The Mets had to come out of the All-Star break like gangbusters to salvage the notion that they could push for a playoff spot and potentially buy at Major League Baseball’s Aug. 1 trade deadline — which is now just one week away.
Instead, they remained trapped in the continuous loop of underachieving letdowns.
After winning nine of their previous 13 to provide the smallest of glimmers, including two straight to nab a series win last week against the Chicago White Sox, the Mets have lost three of four; stuck in the mud and nowhere else to go.
The finest telescope that Steve Cohen’s money could buy would struggle to keep sight of the Atlanta Braves, who after Sunday led the National League East over the fourth-place Mets by 18.5 games. The NL Wild Card situation hasn’t improved much, either. They’re 7.5 games back of the third and final berth with four teams in between.
And while the richest team in baseball history is also one of the most disappointing ones, too, it is not run by an owner divulging in senile illusions of grandeur. The Mets likely aren’t turning this around and Cohen will attempt to use the same business savvy that made him a billionaire 14 times over by cutting his losses and beginning to sell off veteran contracts with eyes on attaining future sustainability.
How drastic will the Mets’ sale be at the 2023 trade deadline?
Cohen has often spoken about building a self-reliant pipeline of talent for the organization, similar to that of the Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers. But the Mets’ farm system that he inherited was thin and while there have been moves made to strengthen it — two of their top prospects, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty, have graduated to full-time roles in the majors and they possess an additional three top-100 prospects — there is still an abundance of work to be done.
General manager Billy Eppler’s phone lines have been open and he has been receiving calls from contenders who would undoubtedly be interested in a number of expiring or shorter-term contracts. Reports have already linked the likes of outfielder Mark Canha to the Seattle Mariners after they lost former Mets top prospect Jarred Kelenic to a broken foot last week after kicking a cooler.
Tommy Pham, who has been one of the Mets’ most pleasant surprises as one of their top offensive performers, is also believed to be receiving significant interest. A lingering groin injury could slow down his market, but he’s expected to return to the lineup for Tuesday’s Subway Series opener against the Yankees.
Veteran reliever David Robertson, serving admirably as New York’s interim closer after Edwin Diaz’s freak injury at the World Baseball Classic in March, should also garner plenty of contending suitors given his versatility in the bullpen.
Catcher Omar Narvaez has seen his playing time understandably diminish after a calf injury in April gave Francisco Alvarez the starting job. While the 21-year-old star never gave it back, Narvaez is a veteran, sure-handed backstop with a passable bat that could boost a team’s catching situation down the stretch.
Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco is also on an expiring contract, but his value is so low given his struggles this season — he owns a 5.82 ERA — the Mets wouldn’t get much in return even if they eat up the last bit of his contract. Of course, this isn’t the starting pitcher that is garnering a shred of interest as a potential trade chip housed in Queens.
The futures of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer remain very much in question as the pair of veteran aces and future Hall of Famers have failed to create the dynamic duo many forecasted them to be after Verlander was signed over the winter.
While Verlander has found his stuff as of late, Scherzer continues to struggle in 2023, though recent performance likely wouldn’t do much to deter a pitching-needy team to take a flier on either starter. Either arm within a playoff-bound rotation would be an alluring thought for GMs around the league, though trading them wouldn’t be so easy.
Both right-handers would have to waive their no-trade clause while the Mets would have to eat considerable money to move them and their $43 million-plus annual salaries to get a return that would help beef up the prospect pool. It would also leave New York with a bare-bones pitching staff for the remainder of the year before heading into the winter with only Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Tylor Megill, and Joey Lucchesi under team control for 2024.
This winter’s free-agent class of starters is robust with the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Aaron Nola, and Lucas Giolito projected to hit the open market. The Mets have also been recently linked to another Japanese starlet in Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Under normal circumstances, relying on the free-agent market to overhaul a starting rotation and make it one of the best units in baseball is a risky one. Cohen’s money limits the risk a bit, but it is still one, nonetheless. That’s why it may be more realistic to assume that one of either Scherzer or Verlander could be traded, but perhaps not both.
